All Quiet on the Blogging Front

So its been a busy few months with developments a plenty. A holiday in Fiji, more life in Oz, a whole host of movies watched and many more books digested. Some of those that I can remember include:

Predictably Irrational, Dan Ariely (3.5 out of 5)

Another book in the behavoiral economics mold. If you lapped up Freakanomics then you'll probably enjoy this. I remember enjoying it reading it but now a few months on I've forgotten it all - so couldnt have been earth shattering.

The War of the Worlds, Nial Ferguson (4 out of 5)

So in my mind one has to be naturally suspicious of someone as prolific as this fella. Not only is he a prolific writer/historian, but he also is a Professor of History at Harvard, a Senior Research Fellow of Jesus College, Oxford University and then when he's not doing that he also manages to knock out the odd BBC TV series! Not bad huh? To make matters worse he's a fantastic writer who has the art of making history real and interesting (something that my history teachers at school really struggled with). Ferguson talks in pretty plain English and has a great eye for unique insight, that quite often forces you to re-think and re-evaluate what you think about the subject. In this book he talks about conflict in the twentieth century and puts forward a pretty powerful argurment for why it has been the most blood thirsty in the history of human kind. This basically revolves around 3 key points:

1) Ethnic Conflict

2) Economic Volatility

3) Empires in Decline

There's many things in the book that really got me thinking. One big one that was really news to me was learning just how much ethnic conflict and ethnic cleansing there has been this century. I had always thought that the Nazi's persecution of the Jews had been a one off thing. But the truth is that's a somewhat flattering view of History. For 40 years before WWII the Jews had been getting a pretty hard time across pretty much the whole of Europe and they weren't the only ones. It's pretty sobering reading.

This is the 3rd Ferguson book I've read (the others being the Ascent of Money, and Empire) and I have to say they've all been good value. Although there are some common threads that intertwine them. Ferguson seems fond of History validated through the lense of Economic Analysis, and also as you'd expect the British Empire plays a prominent roll in all 3 books. However there's plenty of fascinating original insights to keep the pace up, and the attention focussed.

Scar Tissue, Anthony Kiedis (3 out of 5)

So you have to be a Chilli Peppers fan to enjoy this book. And even then its format is pretty predictable as Kiedis lurches from addiction to rehab to be saved by music/love/women before falling back in the clutches of his demons. It does get a little bit tyresome, but there's just enough music related stuff to keep it lightly entertaining. But at the end your kind of happy you are not him despite all the money, the lifestyle and the plaudits.

Bad Vibes - Britpop and My Part in its Downfall, Luke Haines (4 out of 5)

A very different book, very differently told. Haines is acerbic, bitter, droll and hilarious as a result. Again this book will only appeal to fans of Haines in his various guises (The Auteurs, Black Box Recorder, Baader Meinhof) or at the very least those who grew up and revelled in the storm drain of Britpop. Fascinating stuff.

Fooled by Randomness - The Hidden Rule of Chance in Life and in the Markets, Nassim Nicholas Taleb (4 out of 5)

So I started off by reading Black Swans first, which actually followed this. But I think this is the better book. They both cover pretty similar territory but Taleb's insight into the folly of financial markets is refreshing and amazing insightful, especially when you consider that this was written when everyone and his borther was busy worshipping at the alter of Wall Street. The markets are random. Those who pretend otherwise are shysters. Its better to lose small often and win big infrequently. Long term performance charts are a lot less important than you think. And our obsession with studying "succesful" people and millionaires for their unique insights and intelligence is just plain wrong. There's has to be winners and there has to be losers. Luck plays a bigger part in success than almost anyone is prepared to admit.

Whilst I may not agree with everything he says - he provides thought provoking statements that your forced to consider aplenty. Well worth the price of admission.